HDFS 3420- Lesson 9 – Flashcards

-P. 260-263

-Piaget's second stage -lasts from 2 to 7 years -children begin to the world with words, images, and drawings -In this stage, they also form stable concepts and begin to reason -at the same time, their cognitive world is dominated by egocentrism and magical beliefs

-in Piaget's theory, reversible mental actions that allow children to do mentally what they formerly did physically -ex: mentally adding and subtracting numbers -preoperational thought: the beginning of the ability to reconstruct in thought what has been established in behavior. It can be divided into two substages: 1) the symbolic function stage 2) the intuitive thought stage

-Piaget's first substage of preoperational thought, in which the child gains the ability to mentally represent an object that is not present (occurs roughly between 2 and 4 years of age)

-Piaget's concept that describes the inability to distinguish between one's own perspective and someone else's perspective -3 mountains task -preschool children frequently show the ability to take another's on some tasks but not others

-the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action -"The tree pushed the leaf off, and it fell down" -"The sidewalk made me mad; it made me fall down" -young child who uses animism fails to distinguish the appropriate occasions for using human and nonhuman perspectives

-Piaget's second substage of preoperational thought, in which children begin to use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to all sorts of questions (occurs between about 4 and 7 years of age) -children asking the "why" questions at age 5 -Piaget called this substage intuitive b/c young children seem so sure about their knowledge and understanding yet are unaware of how they know what they know. That is, they know something but know it without the use of rational thinking

-the focusing of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others -one limitation of preoperational thought -most clearly evidenced in young children's lack of conservation -conservation: the awareness that altering an object's or a substance's appearance does not change its basic properties -ex: height of container w/ water (tall and skinny vs. short and stout) -beaker task that Piaget performed -In Piaget's theory, failing the conservation-of-liquid task is a sign that children are at the preoperational stage of cognitive development -the failure demonstrates not only centration, but also an inability to mentally reverse actions

-Rochel Gelman (1969) showed that when the child's attention to relevant aspects of the conservation task is approved, the child is more likely to conserve -Gelman has also demonstrated that attentional training on one dimension, such as mass -Gelman argues that conservation appears earlier than Piaget thought and that attention is especially important in explaining conservation

-ZPD -SCAFFOLDING -ETC.

-emphasized that children actively construct their own knowledge and understanding -children more often described as social creatures -they develop their ways of thinking and understanding primarily through social interaction -their cognitive development depends on the tools provided by society, and their minds are shaped by the cultural context in which they live

- Vygotsky's term for the range of tasks that are too difficult for children to achieve alone but can be achieved with the guidance and assistance of adults or more-skilled children -lower limit of ZPD is the level of skill reached by the child working independently -upper limit is the level of additional responsibility the child can accept with the assistance of an able instructor -the ZPD captures the child's cognitive skills that are in the process of maturing and can be accomplished only with the assistance of a more-skilled person

-in regard to cognitive development, Vygotsky used this term to describe the changing level of support over the course of a teaching session, with the more-skilled person adjusting guidance to fit the child's current performance level -When the student is learning a new task, the more-skilled person may use direct instruction. As the student's competence increases, the person gives less guidance

-According to Vygotsky, children use speech not only for social communication, but also to help in solving problems. -argued that young children use language to plan, guide, and monitor their behavior -this use of language for self-regulation is called PRIVATE SPEECH -for Piaget, private speech is egocentric and immature--but for Vygotsky, it is an important tool of thought during the early childhood years -inner speech: the childrens' thoughts -3 to 7-years of age= talking to oneself -Vygotsky argued that children who use a lot of private speech are more socially competent than those who don't -argued that private speech represents an early transition in becoming more socially communicative -when children are talking to themselves, they are using language to govern their behavior and guide themselves -researchers have found support for Vygotsky's view that private speech plays a positive role in children's development -researchers have found that children use private speech more when tasks are difficult, after they have made an error, and when they are not sure how to proceed -also have discovered that children who use private speech are more attentive and improve their performance more than children who do not use private speech

Here are some ways Vygotsky's theory can be incorporated in classrooms: -assess the child's ZPD -use the child's ZPD in teaching -use more-skilled peers as teachers -monitor and encourage children's use of private speech -place instruction in a meaningful context -transform the classroom with Vygotskian ideas

-best way to assess children's learning is not standardized testing, but rather focusing on determining child's ZPD -skilled helper presents the child w/ tasks of varying difficulty to determine the best level at which to begin instruction

-teaching should begin towards zone's upper limit, so that the child can reach the goal with help and move to a higher level of skill and knowledge -"What can I do to help you?" -Observe the child's intentions and attempts and provide support when needed -when child hesitates, offer encouragement -encourage child to practice skill -may watch and appreciate the child's practice or offer support when the child forgets what to do

-not just adults who are important in helping children learn -children also benefit from the support and guidance of more-skilled children

-be aware of the developmental change from externally talking to oneself when solving a problem during the preschool years to privately talking to oneself in the early elementary school years -in the elementary school years, encourage children to internalize and self-regulate their talk to themselves

-educators today are moving away from abstract presentations of material, and, instead, provide students with opportunities to experience learning in real-world settings -Ex: instead of just memorizing math formulas, students work on math problems with real-world implications

-learning activities in small groups -children might read a story and interpret its meaning -KEEP programs

-an approach that emphasizes the social contexts of learning and the fact that knowledge is mutually built and constructed -Vygotsky's theory is a social constructivist approach

social interaction

- students need many opportunities to learn with the teacher and more-skilled peers -figure 9.7 on p. 267***

-Vygotsky was not specific enough about age-related changes -Vygotsky did not adequately describe how changes in socioemotional capabilities contribute to cognitive development -Vygotsky over-emphasized the role of language in thinking -his emphasis on collaboration and guidance has potential pitfalls -some children might become lazy and expect help when they could have done something on their own

-p. 267-271 -information processing approach has generated research that illuminates how children process information during the preschool years

-p. 267-268 -the focusing of mental resources on select information -the child's ability to pay attention improves significantly during the preschool years -television watching and video game playing both linked to attention problems in children -executive attention -sustained attention

-involves action planning, allocating attention to goals, error detection and compensation, monitoring progress on tasks, and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances

-focused and extended engagement with an object, task, event, or other aspect of the environment

Preschool children are likely to pay attention to stimuli that stand out, or are salient, even when those stimuli are not relevant to solving a problem or performing a task -After age of 6 or 7, children attend more efficiently to the dimensions of the tasks that are relevant, such as the directions for solving a problem -this change reflects a shift to cognitive control of attention, so that children act less impulsively and reflect more

-in general, young children's planning improves as part of advances in executive attention, however when experimenters ask children to judge whether two complex pictures are the same, preschool children tend to use a haphazard comparison strategy, not examining all of the details before making a judgment -elementary-school-aged children are more likely to systematically compare the details across the pictures, one detail at a time

school readiness

-the retention of information over time -a central process in children's cognitive development -long-term vs. short-term memory

-the memory component in which individuals retain information for up to 30 seconds, assuming there is no rehearsal -rehearsal allows us to keep info. in our short-term memory for longer periods -one way to measure short-term memory = memory-span task: you hear a short list of stimuli--usually digits--presented at a rapid pace. Then you are asked to repeat the digits -research suggests that short-term memory increases during early childhood -rehearsal of information is important; older children rehearse the digits more than younger children. -Speed and efficiency of processing info. are important, too, especially the speed with which memory items can be identified -the speed-of-processing explanation highlights a key point in the information processing perspective: the speed with which a child processes info. is an important aspect of the child's cognitive abilities, and there is abundant evidence that the speed with which many cognitive tasks are completed improves dramatically across the childhood years

-an umbrella-like concept that consists of a number of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the brain's prefrontal cortex -involves managing one's thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and self-control in early childhood, executive functioning especially involves developmental advances in cognitive inhibition (such as inhibiting a strong tendency that is incorrect), cognitive flexibility (such as shifting attention to another item or topic), and goal-setting (such as sharing a toy or mastering a skill like catching a ball) -during early childhood, the relatively stimulus-driven toddler is transformed into a child capable of flexible, goal-directed problem solving that characterizes executive functioning -significant advances in the development of executive functioning occur in middle and late childhood

This is referred to as the Child's Theory of Mind

-a concept that refers to awareness of one's own mental processes and the mental processes of others -child is viewed as "a thinker who is trying to explain, predict, and understand people's thoughts, feelings, and utterances -linked to cognitive processes -children's theory of mind changes as they develop through childhood

-from 18 months to 3 years of age, children begin to understand 3 mental states: 1) Perceptions: by 2 years of age, children recognize that another person will see what's in front of her own eyes instead of what's in front of the child's eyes, & by 3 years of age, they realize that looking leads to knowing what's inside a container 2) Emotions: The child can distinguish between positive (for example, happy) and negative (for example, sad) emotions. Child might say, "Tommy feels bad." 3) Desires: all humans have some sort of desires. Toddlers recognize that if people want something, they will try to get it. For instance, a child might say, "I want my mommy." ***p.272-274-->READ***

-approx. 1 in 150 children are estimated to have some type of autism -autism can usually be diagnosed by the age of 3 years, and sometimes earlier -children and adults with autism have difficulty in social interactions, often described as huge deficits in theory of mind -researchers have found that children who have autism have difficulty in developing a theory of mind, especially in understanding others' beliefs and emotions -although children with autism tend to do poorly in reasoning on false-belief tasks, they can perform much better on reasoning tasks requiring an understanding of physical causality -Toddlers move rather quickly from producing two-word utterances to creating three-, four-, and five-word combinations -between 2 and 3 years of age, they begin the transition from saying simple sentences that express a single proposition to saying complex sentences

See pages 275-277 in the textbook and the commentary above.

See pages 278-280 in your textbook.

See pages 280-281 in your textbook. (The following is adapted from Figure 9.14 on page 281.) Core Considerations in Developmentally Appropriate Practice 1) Knowledge to Consider in Making Decisions In all aspects of working with children, early childhood practitioners need to consider these three areas of knowledge: (1) What is known about child development and learning, especially age-related characteristics; (2) What is known about each child as an individual; and (3) What is known about the social and cultural contexts in which children live. 2) Challenging and Achievable Goals Keeping in mind desired goals and what is known about the children as a group and individually, teachers plan experiences to promote children's learning and development. Principles of Child Development and Learning That Inform Practice: 1) All the domains of development and learning—physical, cognitive, and social—are important, and they are linked. 2) Many aspects of children's learning and development follow well-documented sequences, with later abilities, skills, and knowledge building on those already acquired. 3) Development and learning proceed at varying rates from child to child, and at uneven rates across different areas of a child's individual functioning. 4) Development and learning result from the interaction of biology and experience. 5) Early experiences have strong effects—both cumulative and delayed—on children's development and learning; optimal periods exist for certain types of development and learning. 6) Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self-regulation, and symbolic or representational capacities. 7) Children develop best when they have secure, consistent relationships with responsive adults and opportunities for positive peer relations. 8) Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural contexts. 9) Always mentally active in seeking to understand the world around them, children learn in a variety of ways; a wide range of teaching strategies can be effective in guiding children's learning. 10) Play is an important context for developing self-regulation and for promoting language, cognition, and competence. 11) Development and learning advance when children are challenged to achieve at a level just beyond their current mastery and when they are given opportunities to practice newly acquired skills. 12) Children's experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning, such as persistence, initiative, and flexibility; in turn, these characteristics influence their learning and development. Guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practice: 1) Creating a Caring Community of Learners Each member of the community should be valued by the others; relationships are an important context through which children learn; practitioners ensure that members of the community feel psychologically safe. 2) Teaching to Enhance Development and Learning The teacher takes responsibility for stimulating, directing, and supporting children's learning by providing the experiences that each child needs. 3) Planning Curriculum to Achieve Important Goals The curriculum is planned to help children achieve goals that are developmentally appropriate and educationally significant. 4) Assessing Children's Development and Learning In developmentally appropriate practice, assessments are linked to the program's goals for children. 5) Establishing Reciprocal Relationships with Families A positive partnership between teachers and families benefits children's learning and development.

Correct Answer: E. Centration and lack of understanding of conservation seem to be most responsible for Jared's inability to simultaneously evaluate multiple pieces of information (i.e., number of strawberries and their spacing) to realize that the quantity did not change as a result of the positioning of the objects (i.e., there are still four strawberries on both plates despite differences in their proximity to one another). For further clarification, please consult the commentary above and pages 260-263 in Santrock's textbook.

Correct Answer: B. Scaffolding requires that adults challenge children to perform tasks that are too difficult for them to do alone, but that they can do if given a little help. It is important for the adult to stand back after giving just enough explanation or illustration to help the child understand how to go further with the challenging task. Lauren can already sort the trucks according to size, so A is incorrect. Lauren's mom must provide active assistance for her to successfully complete tasks within her ZPD, therefore C and D are incorrect. For further clarification, please consult the commentary above and pages 263-265 in Santrock's textbook.

Correct Answer: B. While Tanya does not possess a fully developed memory, this is not the best explanation. Tanya lacks an understanding of others' mental states, which accounts for her inability to understand that others may act in deceptive ways (i.e., seem friendly, but have alternate motives). For further clarification, please consult the commentary above and pages 269 and 271-274 in Santrock's textbook.

Correct Answer: B. In answers A and D, the rules for regular verbs are applied; however, the verbs are irregular. These are common mistakes preschool-aged children make. Answer C is also a common mistake of preschool-aged children—failing to invert the auxiliary verb. B is a two-word utterance, most likely to be characteristic of toddler language (ages 1½ to 2). For further clarification, please consult the commentary above and pages 275-276 in Santrock's text.

Correct Answer: A. Quality early childhood education will seek to encourage growth in multiple domains. Answers B through D are characteristics of early childhood education programs that are developmentally inappropriate. See pages 282-284 for more information.